It Gets Better: Seattle cops come out for Pride

In time for Pride Weekend, a half-dozen gay and lesbian Seattle Police cops have posted a group “It Gets Better” video.

Introduced by Chief John Diaz, the officers and detectives shared their coming out experiences and talk about being police. The video falls in line with others submitted as part of the It Gets Better Project, an initiative pushed by Seattle’s own Dan Savage aimed at helping LGBT youth make it to adulthood.

It’s worth noting that the SPD-endorsed video comes as the city prepares for Pride Weekend, an annual celebration that traces its roots to protests following an anti-gay raid by police in New York City.

Seattle’s largest gay pride event began in the early 1970s as a small-scale gathering to protest for gay civil rights and mark the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots. Sparked by a raid on a Greenwich Village bar, the riots followed decades of police oppression of LGBT people in New York City and elsewhere.

Now, Seattle Police are publicly celebrating LGBT officers in a video that looks a bit like a recruiting effort.